Somalia’s First Regional NCD Registry

Across Somalia, health leaders and clinicians are expected to plan services and make financing decisions but lack dependable data on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Fragmented information and the absence of a dedicated NCD budget line have long limited the country’s ability to direct resources to supporting communities and people living with, and at risk of, developing NCDs.

By establishing Somalia’s first regional NCD registry in Southwest State and the Banadir Region, the country will begin building a foundation of reliable evidence that can inform investment cases, strengthen budget advocacy, and support the integration of NCDs into Universal Health Coverage and national budget frameworks. Over time, this work will help shape a more interoperable and responsive national health information system—one that offers a model for other fragile settings aiming to transform data into actionable evidence and sustainable financing solutions.

The Goal

Establish functional, regionally led NCD registry teams in Southwest State and Banadir Region that generate reliable data for evidence-based planning, financing, and advocacy for NCD services in Somalia.

Objectives

Strengthen Governance: Establish and operationalize NCD registry teams within the Southwest State Ministry of Health and Banadir Region Administration, ensuring policy recognition, clear mandates, and sustainable institutional ownership.
Establish Data Systems: Set up standardized NCD registries in selected regional health facilities to collect data on incidence, mortality, and treatment outcomes for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions.
Build Capacity: Train 15 regional focal persons in NCD registration standards and data management, equipping them to generate and use evidence for fiscal analysis and health budget proposals.
Generate Financing Evidence: Produce two regional NCD investment briefs linking registry data to costed interventions and financing needs, supporting advocacy for domestic and external resource mobilization.

Why It Matters

This initiative introduces a new approach to financing for NCDs tailored to Somalia’s context. It strengthens how multi-disease surveillance informs domestic resource mobilization, pooled funding, and policy action.

Catalytic

Creates the country’s first nationally standardized NCD registry—replacing fragmented data with a credible evidence base that can inform investment cases, fiscal space analyses, and budget proposals.

Scalable

Pilots regional registry teams using simple, low-cost methods that can be scaled across other Federal Member States and adapted for similar fragile contexts.

Innovative

Connects NCD data directly to financing processes and policy instruments within the Ministries of Health and Finance, establishing a pathway for evidence to shape resource allocation, donor alignment, and policy reform.

Impactful Deliverables

The project will:

Establish a National NCD Registry Subcommittee under the Ministry of Health

Deploy multi-disease NCD registry systems in three facilities in Southwest State and Banadir Region.

Train and certify 15 government staff in Southwest State and Banadir Region in international NCD registry standards (ICD-10/ICD-O, TNM, WHO PEN).

Publish Somalia’s first NCD Statistics and Investment Report, linking evidence from cancer, CVDs, diabetes, and respiratory diseases to costed financing proposals.

Pathway to Scale

To promote alignment and avoid duplication, the NCD registry will be developed in close collaboration with Somalia’s Health Information System Unit. This early coordination strengthens sustainability, interoperability, and policy relevance. By piloting two regions, it allows Somalia to demonstrate feasibility, test standardized tools, and strengthen institutional capacity—laying the groundwork for a sustainable national system that supports more informed policy planning, data-driven financing decisions, and stronger accountability.

Project Leads

Federal Ministry of Health, Somalia
Hope Base Advisory (HBA)
Regional Health Offices in Southwest State and Banadir Region

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Healthcare worker providing awareness raising workshop

The FAN Fund offers early-stage, catalytic support to regional or country-led efforts that can strengthen health financing for noncommunicable diseases.

Somalia’s First Regional NCD Registry

The Goal

Establish functional, regionally led NCD registry teams in Southwest State and Banadir Region that generate reliable data for evidence-based planning, financing, and advocacy for NCD services in Somalia.

Objectives

Strengthen Governance: Establish and operationalize NCD registry teams within the Southwest State Ministry of Health and Banadir Region Administration, ensuring policy recognition, clear mandates, and sustainable institutional ownership.

Establish Data Systems: Set up standardized NCD registries in selected regional health facilities to collect data on incidence, mortality, and treatment outcomes for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions.

Build Capacity: Train 15 regional focal persons in NCD registration standards and data management, equipping them to generate and use evidence for fiscal analysis and health budget proposals.

Generate Financing Evidence: Produce two regional NCD investment briefs linking registry data to costed interventions and financing needs, supporting advocacy for domestic and external resource mobilization.